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Air Peace Limited has dismissed as false reports alleging that its chairman, Allen Onyema, and vice chairman, Alice Onyema, are facing a tax evasion lawsuit filed by the Lagos State Government.
The airline, Nigeria's largest by fleet size, rejected the claims in a statement published Wednesday, describing the reports as inaccurate and urging caution against the spread of unverified information. Air Peace did not identify specific outlets by name but said the allegations were baseless and had the potential to damage the reputation of its leadership.
The rebuttal follows widespread media coverage that Lagos State had filed a lawsuit against Onyema over an alleged personal income tax liability of ₦94 million. The claim, according to those earlier reports, related to unpaid or under-remitted personal income taxes tied to his earnings and financial activity within the state. Authorities were said to be pursuing full recovery of the disputed amount through court proceedings.
Air Peace said the reports misrepresent the facts and that neither Onyema nor Alice Onyema had been served with any such lawsuit. Onyema founded Air Peace in 2013 and has built the carrier into the largest airline in West Africa and the sixth-largest in sub-Saharan Africa. The airline operates a fleet of more than 30 aircraft and serves routes across Nigeria, the continent and international destinations including London and Sao Paulo.
Whether the dispute ultimately reaches court, it has placed renewed attention on Lagos State's increasingly assertive posture toward high-net-worth individuals and senior corporate executives. In recent years, the state has stepped up audits and enforcement actions targeting prominent business figures as it works to expand its internally generated revenue base.
Onyema has been a consistent and vocal presence in Nigeria's aviation sector, frequently warning that excessive fiscal burdens on airlines risk translating directly into higher ticket prices and weaker sector sustainability. The latest episode places those long-running arguments in a more personal context, with the airline chief now pushing back against what Air Peace characterizes as a direct attack on the credibility of its leadership.
Lagos State Government had not issued a formal response to Air Peace's denial as of the time of this report.
